Michael Carrick leaves Man United.

Carrick announced his decision to leave minutes after the Arsenal win that moved Manchester United into the seventh spot in the league standings.

Michael Carrick leaves Man Utd after 15 years [Sky Sports Screen Shot]

Ex-England midfielder Michael Carrick has stepped down as first-team coach after the end of his spell as caretaker manager.

Carrick revealed that he decided to leave Old Trafford after United’s 3-2 win over Arsenal on Thursday night.

Carrick, who won five-time Premier League titles during his 12 years as a player at United, took over as caretaker boss after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked on 21 November.

The 40-year-old took charge of the 2-0 Champions League away win to Villarreal on 23 November before the 1-1 Premier League draw at Chelsea last Sunday.

He said as Manutd.com quoted: “My time at this great club will always rank as the best years of my career. When I first signed over 15 years ago, I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined winning so many trophies and I will certainly never forget the fantastic memories both as a player and as a member of the coaching team.

"However, after a lot of thought and deliberation, I have decided that now is the right time for me to leave the club.

"I want to place on record my thanks to all of the players and a special mention goes to the backroom staff, working long hours with such a great group of people has been a real pleasure and I have made some long-lasting friendships.

"I am, and will always be a Manchester United fan and will come to as many matches as possible. I would like to wish Ralf, the staff, the players, and the fans all the best for the future and I look forward to being in the stands and supporting the boys as a fan.”

'It feels like the perfect time'

Speaking to BBC Sport, the former United player, coach and caretaker manager said: "I feel quite good. I feel quite calm which is quite satisfying because I’ve made the right decision. It has been a rollercoaster week thinking about the decision – it has taken a lot of time and effort in that way. I’m convinced it is the right decision – I’ve been here 15 and a half years because you have to commit everything here. I owe my family a little bit of time, I really owe them that. It just feels like the right time. I had a gut feeling and it feels like a perfect time.

"I’ve told the boys that I’ll be here and I’ll definitely be going in the away end and supporting them from there. I’m really looking forward to that side to be honest and enjoying football again.

"We are a close group. It wasn’t easy telling the players. In some ways you feel like you’re leaving them in the lurch but sometimes you have to do what’s right. I’ve loved working with them – they are a terrific group of players.

"I honestly couldn’t have hoped for anything more. I woke up in a weird place this morning, not many people knew what was going to happen obviously. I told the players to play with emotion and the atmosphere and their responsibilities to trigger it off. It was like an old-school classic and hopefully the boys will go on to enjoy more nights like this in the future.

On the conversations he's had with Ralf Rangnick, he replied: "They have been little ones to be honest. I was conscious of making my decision before any real conversations with Ralf. I wanted to be clear-cut. It was nothing personal at all. He’s got a good group of players to work with and hopefully, we’ll look back at this being a big result."

United left-back Patrice Evra said on Amazon Prime: "Cristiano Ronaldo is putting a lot of pressure on the new manager. It was a big performance from the team. We are talking a lot about the new manager but we should Michael Carrick a lot of credit.

"Michael Carrick did very well. Everybody was waiting for Ralf Rangnick to be the saviour - now he has the team and it is time to deliver."

Follow Think Football Ideas across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.